How These Things Happen
by Iliak
Summary: Kyoko finally makes good on Kuu's invitation to come visit him in America, and of course it doesn't go as expected. Prequel to How Maria Got Over Tsuruga Ren. Kyoko/Kuon
1. How Kyoko Confessed to the Wrong Person

Note: This was my gift for tumblr user maui-omurice for the 2015 Skip Beat! Secret Santa event. The story begins some months after chapter 231.

* * *

LAX was crowded, and not in the usual way of airports. There were too many camera flashes in the arrivals' area, and too many voices saying things besides "welcome back!" Kyoko wondered whether all this fuss wasn't normal here, at what she supposed was a busy hub for celebrities that attracted onlookers like flies to ripe fruit. Then again, this much interest would have been a given no matter where she flew in, as long as the person picking her up today remained a constant.

When she finally caught sight of that man, the eye of the paparazzi hurricane, everything in the world went still except for her heart: that soared. Hopping on her tiptoes, waving a hand high, Kyoko mustered all her spirit. "Oto–"

Her throat closed up as her cheeks flushed. Silently rehearsing for ten hours on the plane hadn't been enough, in the end.

She sighed in defeat, and then sucked the air back into her lungs as she called on Kuon for help, just for this one word.

"Otou-san!"

Foreign to most of the crowd, the word flew past them all to hit only its target. Face lighting up as he met Kyoko's eyes from across the room, Kuu Hizuri parted the the flood of people around him with a level of ease accessible only to a renowned martial artist like himself. The moment she was within reach of his long arm, Kuu was ruffling Kyoko's hair, beaming down at her, saying, "I waited and waited for you."

The Hizuris lived outside the city, so out of necessity Kyoko was treated to a long car ride with her beloved teacher. It was her first time seeing him in the driver's seat, and she couldn't help but think fondly of how suave he looked, confidently speeding them down the highway whenever traffic was sparse enough–as expected of an ultra-cool Hollywood star!

When they were forced to slow down for a swarm of cars, Kuu flicked his eyes towards her without turning his head, smiling sidelong, and there was a brief stirring of recognition in the back of Kyoko's mind. But she didn't pursue the thought, because Kuu was talking.

"This could be dangerous. I thought we could beat rush hour, but…."

Dangerous? Kyoko's eyes went wide. "What? Are Americans actually aggressive drivers? I didn't know there was such a problem here. Sensei, please watch the road carefully!"

"No, it's not like that." Kuu gave her a flat look before resuming the explanation with a fond smile. "It's getting late, and Julie's dead set on having a family dinner with you tonight." Warmth and bashfulness rushed through Kyoko's heart, but those feelings were quickly interrupted by a jolt of icy fear when Kuu went on, "Actually, she specifically said she wants to cook for you as often as possible while you're here."

"O-oh. How generous…."

"Don't make that face. I talked her down–"

"You make it sound like crisis negotiation," Kyoko murmured, but Kuu ignored her.

"–And she agreed that I should definitely take care of the food tomorrow night, since we'll have guests, and from there it was easy to get her mostly convinced to let me do the rest, too."

"Mostly?"

"That's why I was saying we might be in danger, now."

* * *

They were too late. Julie Hizuri made good on her threat. Kuu and Kyoko exercised their acting skills as they ate the bafflingly sweet, crunchy pasta puttanesca. But Kyoko almost couldn't even taste it.

When she and Kuu had come inside through the grand double doors, this angelic woman had been right there waiting for them. Julie's enthusiastic "okaeri nasai!" in an American accent had stopped Kyoko's heart for a moment, and she didn't find her voice in time to join in on Kuu's "tadaima".

Even twenty minutes later, at the dinner table, Kyoko still had to take a moment every time she needed to speak. Julie bore it patiently, probably believing it was because Kyoko struggled with the English they had all switched over to after Kyoko's failed response to the greeting. "I'm sorry," Julie had said, laughing. "I practiced! But I guess my accent is just hopeless."

It wasn't that. Kyoko's pulse was distractingly loud in her ears, and all her senses except for sight were dulled or muddled. How could she possibly care about what she was eating or smoothly keep up with the conversation when everything was so warm and there was an angel twirling a fork through spaghetti noodles across the table?

Oh, but an angel? Kyoko suddenly reconsidered as she admired Julie's soft waves of blonde hair for the 27th time. No, this woman was clearly a fairy type. Maybe, like Tsuruga-san, there was a fairy somewhere in her ancestry.

When Kuu finally stood and started gathering the plates, which had been miraculously cleaned, Kyoko jumped up to help him, but Julie stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "You're visiting, we can't have you doing chores! And aren't you tired? Why don't I show you your room now?"

Unaccustomed to actually being a guest after almost a lifetime of receiving them, Kyoko was bashful. "Thank you. If it's really okay not to help this time…."

Hands clasped in front of her and cheeks pink, Kyoko followed Julie out of the dining room, through a living room as big as the Darumaya's entire ground floor, and into a hallway. As they neared the hall's second door, Julie slowed and then stopped. Slender hand caressing the doorknob, she was quiet for a moment and then turned her head towards Kyoko with a complicated sort of smile. The curve of her mouth was soft but those beautiful green eyes were too bright, her brow on the verge of furrowing. "Come in here for a minute, first."

The door opened on what Kyoko guessed, after a moment of puzzlement, to be a teenage boy's bedroom. Yes, she thought, the furniture and bedspread were surely too spartan for a girl's room in a fancy house like this, there were posters on the wall, and the hiking boots on the floor next to the desk were huge. She had just been thrown off, at first, because Shotaro was the only other teenage boy whose room Kyoko had ever been inside, and this one was markedly different in a few ways. The bookshelf in this room was populated with more than old magazines, for one.

For another, this room was entirely too clean. It wasn't as if it had an air of fastidiousness; one of those boots Kyoko noticed had been left on its side, and the desk was a chaos zone of notebooks and textbooks. But the bed was made with hotel-level neatness, the trash can was empty despite all the crumpled paper on the desk, and the only scent was laundry detergent.

This room's owner had left it vacant for a long time, and Kyoko didn't need to watch Julie smooth a hand tenderly over the bedspread to know why.

"Kuu told me you knew all about Kuon."

There was a knot in Kyoko's stomach, but it wasn't like indigestion. Should she express condolences at this juncture? Oh no, why hadn't she practiced for a scenario like this? "He said a lot of things about him," she answered carefully.

"This is his room," Julie said unnecessarily, turning towards the window and pulling the curtain aside. Red light from the summer sunset fell over her, casting a pink tinge to her hair, amping up her ethereal beauty. Kyoko didn't notice that she was holding her breath until she choked on it, hearing what Julie said next. "We keep it clean and fresh for him, and we haven't changed anything, but I wonder how different his taste is by now. He's not a child anymore, even if…." Apparently registering Kyoko's reaction, Julie turned around, eyebrows raised.

Kyoko tried to school her expression into something that wasn't dismay, stretching the corners of her mouth into a nervous smile. "E-even if?" _Oh no, oh no, oh no–sensei! Why didn't you warn me that your wife still thinks her son is alive? I'm not ready for this, not ready, not ready!_

Julie shook her head and smiled again. "No, never mind. I've been wanting to ask you what you think of my son, since you know him so well. It's been so long since I got to talk to any of his friends."

Kyoko could only meekly state the truth. "I like him very much." A pause, and then she decided to amend that. Saying it in English was different, easier, and she had to consider the feelings of person she was talking to. "No, actually… I love him."

Like sunshine, bright and intense and purifying, Julie beamed at her. Kyoko had to avert her eyes. "I knew it. I wanted to hear you say it, but I've been sure, ever since Kuu–"

The door, which had been left ajar, was opened now by the very man. "You're in here?" The look he sent Julie was questioning, but the crease in his brow wasn't quite right for the concern Kyoko thought he ought to feel for his obviously traumatised wife upon finding her in their deceased son's room.

"Just a detour. I thought she might like to see his room, since she took such an interest in playing him." Luckily, Julie didn't appear to be in any distress at the moment. Playing along must have been the right choice.

Soon Julie and Kuu had led her further down the hall to a lovingly prepared guest room, and not long after Kyoko was free to flop face-down on her pretty bed and wonder if she was going to survive a week of all this happiness and stress.


	2. How Two LME Actors Debuted in Hollywood

Nobody mentioned Kuon the next day, which left Kyoko torn between relief and anxiety. She hadn't expected the topic to be quite this fraught, and she was glad now for every interaction that didn't involve it, but felt certain that it would come up again. And what would she do then? What if she said the wrong thing and hurt the grieving Julie? It was a terrible thought. **  
**

Around midday, Kyoko resolved to gather her courage and ask for Kuu's advice. Though it would likely bring up painful memories for him, that couldn't be helped. Whatever his reason had been for not telling Kyoko about Julie in advance, it didn't matter now.

She couldn't get him alone for more than a moment until shortly before dinnertime. It was to be a lavish spread of sushi, which Kyoko had offered to help prepare. Setting her cutting board near Kuu's, she decided it would be best to finish slicing one fillet of tuna before broaching the topic, in order to create a natural atmosphere. Or no, maybe two, this kind of thing shouldn't be rushed.

She was starting in on her fourth when Kuu said, "Okay, let's hear what you're fretting about."

Kyoko stiffened. "Clairvoyant…."

"Sorry to disappoint you, I'm not an ESPer. You've been making faces at me all day whenever Julie isn't looking." Kyoko froze, and Kuu gave her a wry look. "You didn't realize it? An actress has to be conscious of her face, you know. Everything is useful, so even when you're unguarded, pay attention!"

Precious advice from teacher to student! Kyoko nodded immediately, eyes lit with determination to soak up every drop of wisdom from this lesson, but Kuu only went on to say, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Oh, that. Kyoko's heart sank back down in the direction of the churning pit of anxiety in her stomach. She looked down and bit her lip at the glistening fish under her hands. How to even start? "About… about Kuon, I guess by now it's been almost six years since…. Well, I mean to say, it must be very difficult, beyond my imagination." Pausing, she raised her gaze from the cutting board, tilting her head towards Kuu. She hoped he would catch her meaning and start explaining things on his own, but all he offered was a patient expression. No good. She was going to have to rush right at the matter and get it over with, wasn't she? Kyoko put on her best armor: excessive formality. "S-so then, regarding your honorable wife! I must ask you to trouble yourself by telling me how to respond when she speaks of your precious son!"

Kuu snorted.

… What? So she had worried and worried and worried, and finally worked up the guts to ask about this delicate topic, only for him to display shocking insensitivity for his wife? Apparently chastened by her glare, Kuu dropped his knife to hold up both hands placatingly, though he didn't stop smiling. "I'm not laughing at you." A brazen lie. "But–look, you should smile too! It's true that Julie was hurt badly when she lost him, but it's not a grave situation anymore. She can talk about him cheerfully now, and she's waiting patiently to meet him again."

"Waiting… to meet him…." Kyoko couldn't suppress her horror, but Kuu only looked baffled by her reaction.

"Yes. That's partly thanks to you, you know. So stop worrying and respond to her naturally. It makes her happy, and the angels sing when my beautiful wife smiles. Her eyes…." Kuu launched into one of his incomprehensible bouts of praise, leaving Kyoko unable to get in another word.

* * *

Some time after the shock faded, Kyoko attempted to rationalize her sensei's horrifying words as anything besides an insinuation that Julie was eagerly waiting to meet Kuon in heaven. Maybe, maybe, maybe she had misunderstood a key detail all this time. Come to think of it, Kuu had technically only ever said that he hadn't seen Kuon since he was fifteen. It had felt natural to assume he meant the boy had passed away, but there were other reasons for parents and children to be separated. Hadn't Kyoko herself essentially run away from home at fifteen? Well, not that she'd seen her mother all that much before then, but that was beside the point.

Kuon Hizuri most likely had never died.

"Isn't that right, Kyoko?"

She sat up straighter, though she hadn't been slouching to start with. "Ah, um–yes! That is exactly right!" Oops. Her hosts' dinner party wasn't the time to be spacing out and pondering such weighty matters.

Kyoko barely had time to hope that whatever she had just agreed with was actually correct before a beaming Kuu went on. "I would've liked to be there when the Dark Moon cast found out. Mind you, most shows can't even touch Tsukigomori's ratings these days, let alone surpass it!"

So that was it. Relieved, Kyoko gave a polite giggle. "That's right, we all rejoiced. The wrap party ended up really extravagant because of it."

Two simultaneous sighs from the men across the table ensued. "Sure hope all that success is contagious," said the one who had been introduced to Kyoko as Sam, though she struggled to actually address him so informally. She figured him for at least twenty years older than Kuu, judging by the gray hair and creased forehead. So far, she had gathered that he was a director–a distinguished one, she automatically assumed, since Kuu seemed to think well of him. Presently, Sam was nursing a gin and tonic.

Kuu leaned forward on an elbow, as much as he could without disturbing the platter of sushi in front of him. "That bad already?"

The other guest, a slightly younger man called Andy who Kyoko understood to also be involved in the movie industry somehow, made a loud dismissive noise around a mouthful of ikura. "He's just pissed because he doesn't have all his ducks in a row. This idol from Akatoki we had lined up for a part threw a fit about it not fitting her image, today. Flaked on us. Good riddance, if you ask me, but you know how Sam gets."

"The read-through was supposed to be on Thursday," Sam snapped. "You know the grief we'll get if we postpone it now, but none of us has time to court agencies for a replacement in the next two days."

"It's a pain, is all."

"So all you need is a stand-in for Thursday?" Julie smoothly interrupted. Sam had just opened his mouth again with an even testier expression than before. "That's not so hard, is it?"

"You wanted an idol, right?" Suddenly, there was a hand on Kyoko's head, a hand which was obviously Kuu's since he was the only person sitting next to her. "My son, here, knows how to read a script pretty well."

"Son?" Sam squinted at her, but Andy just looked thoughtful.

After a moment, he shrugged. "Gotta be better than getting an intern to do it. Will you sign an NDA?" The question was directed at Kyoko suddenly enough to fluster her, but before she could stumble through a response Kuu spoke in her ear, in Japanese.

"He's talking about a non-disclosure agreement. You'll be fine if you say yes to this."

And so she did.

* * *

What exactly was she expecting from this? Kyoko silently asked herself that question when she signed the paper brought to her the next day, and again as she skimmed through the script to read her lines, and then lots more times on the ride to the studio where the read-through was to be hosted. She was monitoring the temperature of a stew of hesitation and excitement bubbling in her chest, threatening to reach a boil at any moment and turn into–what? She was only supposed to be in the country until next Monday; surely ambition would be a ludicrous thing to feel in this situation.

And yet.

"Preparing for battle?" Julie had asked with a knowing smile when she caught Kyoko spending extra time on her hair that morning. Kyoko had blushed and denied it.

Kuu had talked a lot about how this was a good learning opportunity, good practice, a chance for her to get a taste of how things were done in Hollywood. "And you never know who you might meet." That last part was said with an innocent grin just as he pulled up to the curb. "So go and make an impression."

The first person Kyoko made an impression on, without any effort at all, was Yashiro-san in the foyer. To be fair, he made the same impression on her. His bulging eyes and slack jaw were a mirror image of her own. From across the room, she saw him mouth "Kyoko-cha–" and then shake his head. He held up a hand as if to say "wait" before he dashed down the adjoining hallway.

Kyoko swayed where she stood.

Well. Well, she should be reasonable. This was a multipurpose building, she supposed. And she had known for weeks that Tsuruga-san was planning to make his Hollywood debut in some movie or other, which she had forbidden herself from looking up because she was no longer a pathetically obsessive girl in love. And so now, she also shouldn't pathetically start dreaming that Tsuruga-san would take a break from whatever important thing he was surely doing so that she could see him, either. She had to be better than that! Yes, she was here to complete a specific job, and she mustn't get distracted by hopes and heart palpitations. Onward to the appointed room, go, go!

He was there.

Seated on the side of the long table facing the door, it was impossible not to see him right away; Kyoko's eyes were drawn to him before her restraint could catch up. She hardly even registered Yashiro standing behind him, leaning down to speak urgently in his ear. As she stared, Tsuruga-san looked her way and she saw his expression jump from disbelief to shock.

Just when Kyoko began to fear she was in the wrong room, Andy strode in and kindly ushered her to a chair so far diagonally from Tsuruga-san's that there was no way to look at him without conspicuously turning her head. The remaining members of the cast and production filed into the room after that, Sam appeared to give opening statements, and then they launched right into the reading.

Kyoko threw herself into her temporary role with zest, fleeing from an overwhelming reality in which the man for whom she harboured a hopeless love sat only a few feet away from her, when she hadn't expected to see him again for months.

When the reading was over, Kyoko quickly stood up and saw Tsuruga-san do the same, looking over at her. All the giddiness she had suppressed for the past few hours rushed to the forefront of her mind, but just when she started to move towards him, someone clapped a hand on her shoulder. It was Andy.

"Hey, which agency are you signed with, again? LME? Come with me for a minute, I want to talk to you."

Kyoko ended up talking to Andy, along with Sam and several of the co-producers, for much longer than a minute. The sun was well and truly down when a dazed Kyoko was finally allowed to leave the building, with promises to finish discussing a contract after consulting with LME.

She had found a moment to call Kuu in the middle of it all to warn him against rushing to pick her up early, so it was a surprise when she saw his silhouette already outside the glass double doors, lit by fluorescent light. But no, she realized in the moment she pushed one door open, this figure was just slightly taller than her sensei. This man was actually–

"Mogami-san!" There was a tightening in her chest. It was almost August and she hadn't seen him since June, nor had she expected to see him until January. "Was it meant to be a secret that you were going international?"

There was urgency written in the bend of his spine as he leaned down to talk to her, surprise in the wideness of his eyes, and happiness–oh please, yes, let him be happy to see her–pulling up the corners of his mouth. That tightness in Kyoko's chest clenched so hard she felt light-headed, or maybe she had been that way since the moment she saw him today. Her facial muscles threatened to do something truly disgusting–oh, but he was waiting for her to answer his question.

"No, it–it's not even final yet, you see, I was only supposed to stand in today. Due to circumstances, I happened to be invited here on Tuesday."

"Circumstances?" Kyoko's head whipped around towards Yashiro, who had apparently been just off to the side all this time. Tunnel vision for Tsuruga-san, oh no, she was in deep.

"Y-yes," she said, trying to find her feet and not get swept away by her foolish heart. "Right now I'm visiting sen–I mean, Hizuri-san, and you see–" Kyoko cut herself off, not because anybody interrupted her, but Tsuruga-san had suddenly jerked all 190 centimeters of himself upright.

"You mean he invited you over for summer break?" Yashiro was saying, oblivious to the disproportionate surprise in his charge's expression. "That's amazing. You two really did get close during that Love Me assignment, didn't you?"

"Not for the whole break. Though, I might be changing my plans now…." Kyoko stared up at Tsuruga-san, wondering if she was correct in interpreting the way his eyes kept avoiding her as nervousness. What could he possibly be nervous about, especially so much so that he couldn't completely hide it? "Tsuruga-san, did you skip dinner? No, more precisely: when did you last eat, and what was it?"

That got him to look at her again, mild smile quickly slipping into place. "There hasn't been time for dinner yet, Mogami-san, and I assure you I ate lunch."

"What you call 'lunch' is sure to be insufficient by normal standards." She glared, and he gave the usual grin that meant he was trying to avoid a proper meal, and it was all so comfortable that for a moment Kyoko couldn't help feeling better about everything in the world. "You and Yashiro-san haven't planned anything for dinner, right? When I called Hizuri-san a while ago, he told me that since his wife ended up busy tonight and it's late anyway, we're going to eat out. Why don't you come too?"

"Sure, that would–" Yashiro was cut off.

"No." When both Kyoko and Yashiro stared at him, Tsuruga-san amended his answer. "No, thank you. I'd better not."

"Weren't you on good terms with him last time you met?" Yashiro was just as confused by the response as Kyoko. Even more than being on good terms, she had been sure Tsuruga-san admired her sensei at least a little.

"I'm sure he won't mind. Adding just two people to the reservation shouldn't be much trouble for the restaurant either, so really–"

"It's unnecessary, Mogami-san."

Kyoko tilted her head back and frowned up at him through the dim light. Somehow, this didn't feel like his usual habit of shrinking away from nutrition. He was too stiff, too insistent. She was about to prod him again when Kuu's car pulled up to the curb.

"Well, goodnight." Tsuruga-san smiled and did a 180 to stride towards the parking lot, forcing Yashiro to bid Kyoko a hasty farewell before hurrying after him. All Kyoko could do was sink into the passenger seat, more confused than ever.

Kuu proved to be no help. "So, you ran into someone interesting after all?"

* * *

Three weeks passed before she saw him again. Kyoko was busy for most of that time with all the arrangements that would allow her to stay in this foreign land for several more months, as well as thinking over her new role, but she was left with enough time to ponder Tsuruga-san's bout of odd behavior to the point of obsession.

More than once, she thought about calling him, only to lose the nerve or find herself unsure of exactly what question she wanted him to answer. He didn't call her either, and she told herself she was unreasonable for being disappointed. But they were both on set for the first day of filming and, neither of them playing a lead role, ended up with ample free time.

Yashiro spared Kyoko from having to corner Tsuruga-san by making sure they all sat together for lunch and then abruptly abandoning them. "Even if this is America, there must be vending machines with tea somewhere," he insisted before he disappeared, tactfully not returning until filming had resumed for half an hour.

Kyoko frowned down at the flimsy little box of catered sandwiches she had been provided, and then set it on the folding chair Yashiro had vacated. It would have been preferable to get Tsuruga-san alone for a private conversation. But there wasn't anybody close enough to eavesdrop, at least, and the only other person on set who understood Japanese was the absent Yashiro-san. And anyway, ideal or not, this very well might be the best opportunity she would get for a long time.

"Tsuruga-san, actually, do you…." she began, only to stop and bite her lip, still undecided on how to articulate what had been nagging at her. "I mean… I've been wondering, what is your history with sensei?"

Silence and more silence, the noise of the cast and crew melding into the background. Tsuruga-san set his untouched lunch box next to hers. Fearing she had angered him with a forbidden topic and he was going to get up and leave, Kyoko dared to glance at him in time to watch his expression shift from troubled to a resigned smile. She blinked when he finally met her eyes, his smile turning softer.

"Kyoko-chan," he said, and she felt her whole being–no, it was the whole world, the Earth spinning on its axis–go completely still. That was her fairy prince talking.


	3. How Ren Didn't Get the Girl

"Corn," Kyoko heard herself say, though surely it was an auditory hallucination. Speech was impossible when she wasn't breathing. **  
**

"Yeah." And there was her fairy prince, once again smiling at her through the face of the man she loved. It was like Guam all over again, but not. No, what had actually happened in Guam? Who was real and who was pretend, Tsuruga-san or Corn? What meaning was she to take from this new information? Kyoko's mind raced furiously against her heart, confusion and wild excitement overtaking one another in turn. Meanwhile, Corn went on, heedless of her turmoil. "But… no, I should start there, I guess. I didn't mind you calling me that, so I never corrected you, but my name is actually Ku–"

"–on." Kyoko's brain supplied the name before she could even think to search for the idea of it. She heard sensei teaching her the name in her memory, and now she could see that man in the one before her, too. How had she never noticed it before, the resemblance between Kuu and Tsuruga-san? … Well, no, she had seen glimpses of it, here and there, without making the connection. It had simply been too outlandish of an idea, that two people she knew might actually be the same person, who then might also be another person altogether. This was the reality presented to her now, and her memory was still catching up, conveniently putting together all the details only now that it was too late to figure out the truth on her own.

Yes, it was all so obvious from the outside. At that thought, her heartbeat slowed. Excitement tripped and fell face-down, and confusion won the race. She had been allowed to become close to this man, close enough to love him, while he kept such vital information from her. Out of consideration for Tsuruga-san she had resolved not to ask him about his past, since it seemed to pain him so much, but she hadn't known that she herself was already tangled up in it.

Kuon's face mirrored the surprise she felt at herself. "You–no," he stopped himself with a frown. "Did they tell you something? Did my mother hint at who I was?"

"Nobody told me anything." Corn knew so much about her. How stupid Tsuruga-san must have thought she was when she confided in him.

He must have noticed the ice clinging to her skin, because in the next moment Kuon was out of his seat, getting on his knees next to her chair. His voice was full of soft urgency. "I'm sorry. You're the first person to know about this besides my parents and the president. I've wanted to tell you for a while now, but I…."

She looked at him, and he gave her a complicated smile, much like one she'd seen a few times in the past. How many expressions did he have? How many were genuine?

"The truth is, I wanted to bury 'Kuon' and forget him. I did something that doesn't deserve forgiveness, and I thought I should disappear from this world. I intended to cut every connection to my past and live completely as Ren, but I–" Kuon's eyes flicked away from her now, to the busy set around them. Kyoko had almost forgotten they weren't the only people in the room. "I didn't count on you. Listen–when we're alone, I'll tell you the whole story, everything, anything you want to know. It's a promise."

"A promise." Her voice wasn't even cold now; there was just nothing in it. She was retreating, steeling herself to keep her emotions controlled until she was somewhere she could safely unleash them.

He gave her a smile she thought looked almost nervous, eyes pleading, enough to make Kyoko's heart waver for a moment. That stupid emotion she felt for this man, it had the nerve to plague her even now. "So, now that you know who I am, can I call you just 'Kyoko'? Last time, you said–"

"No." Kyoko didn't falter even when she realized how petulant she sounded, mercilessly snapping his olive branch. He wanted to speak to her as a friend, and a large part of her wanted to let him, but the rest shrank away from him. It was all too much; her heart was more vulnerable, and he more dangerous to it, than ever. "The one I gave permission to address me so informally was Corn, and that was under the false pretence that he was a real person."

* * *

Kyoko emailed Kuu a curt message about not needing a ride home, she was busy tonight, she would pay for a car service, don't wait up. Luckily the shoot ran late enough that she only needed to kill two hours in a diner, staring out the window and pushing meatloaf around a plate, before figuring the Hizuri household would be asleep.

With that in mind, she didn't turn on any lights and crept through the colossal house towards her borrowed room as quietly as she could. Passing Kuon's room, she stopped involuntarily, then gave in and turned to face the door. Kyoko raised a trembling fist, but as soon as she started to swing back her arm for a punch, the momentum drained out of her. Instead she allowed her whole body to slump forward, forehead thumping against the wood.

 _Nobody told me anything._

Oh, but that wasn't true. She had been told all sorts of things. Kuu had fed her sweet ideas about an unrealistic, beautiful boy, knowing full well that she admired the man he'd become. Julie had made her worry so much for her sake, had even pulled something like a confession out of Love Me Section member number 1. Tsuruga-san had broken all her locks while pretending he didn't know her secrets. And Corn….

As if fairies could exist in any world inhabited by Kyoko. As if her life could be touched by anything so pure and magical. Her mother had resented her for existing, Shotaro had only ever seen her as convenient labor, and neither the man for whom she had cultivated feelings of love nor fairies were real. The real world wasn't a gentle place, she'd always known that. That was how it was. No sense in crying over it.

Just like that, everything Kyoko had suppressed all day broke loose. She clapped a hand over her mouth after the first sob, but it was too late to stop the flood.

The sound of approaching footsteps made her jerk upright and stumble backwards into the wall. Large hands caught her shoulders and steadied her. "It's about time! Did you pay attention to your phone at all? You might be a working girl, but you can't be so careless about staying out late, let alone in an unfamiliar place. Understand?"

Kuu's voice was stern like it had been right after telling Kyoko she could continue to call him her father, when he'd chided her for a thousand little things. She hiccupped, and nodded once. "I was irre-irresponsible."

The grip on her shoulders softened, and Kuu leaned down far enough that the only thing left to hide the state of Kyoko's face was the darkness. There was a pause before he spoke again, this time in gentle tones. "Did something happen? Are you hurt?"

"No." Her voice was thick.

"Did you get in trouble at work?"

"No!"

Another pause, and Kuu stood straight. "Have you eaten?"

Kyoko gave a loud sniffle, and thought about lying that the two bites she'd swallowed at the diner were enough. But she was too slow. Already, Kuu was shuffling her to the kitchen, where he sat her in the breakfast nook while he futzed with milk, eggs, flour, and sugar.

What happened to being angry at him? Kyoko wondered as she traced the handle of the mug of cocoa Kuu placed in front of her. Learning that so much had been hidden from her by the people who had such a hold on her heart had been a painful shock, a reminder that she was an outsider–but Kuu wasn't allowing her to feel that way now. After a few minutes of listening to pancakes hissing on the griddle, she didn't even feel much like crying anymore, though her plan had been to bawl into her pillow until she was ready to sort through her emotions. Perhaps that first step wasn't actually a necessary prerequisite for the second one.

"I told you not to wait up," she said at length, when her throat didn't feel so tight anymore.

"You think I could go to bed while my precious child is out and about in a dangerous city she doesn't know her way around? You're lucky Julie's in New York this week, or I would have told her, and your voicemail would be full of her claiming she only has until this morning to live."

Chastened, Kyoko smiled into her cocoa. "'m sorry." A few quiet minutes ticked by, Kyoko watching Kuu's back as he stood over the stove turning pancakes. And then she decided to try something, just to see what would happen–if she would receive evidence that she was wrong to want to trust him. "I've been wondering…. You really haven't seen Kuon at all since he was fifteen?"

Kuu paused, and gave her a searching look over his shoulder. "When I told you about him, that was true. And I still haven't been able to meet him face-to-face… and I've promised I wouldn't try to, either. But soon after I met you, Julie and I received a message from him, to tide us over until he can come back to us on his own."

Why would he say something like that if his intention was just to lie and exclude her? For that matter, what did any of them have to gain from misleading her? This wasn't like with Shotaro; Kuu, Julie, and the man she had known as Tsuruga-san all had so much more than she did. They couldn't possibly need her in any material sense, so there would be no point in them using her. Looking at it like that, wasn't it actually self-centered of her to think she was being deliberately left out?

Kyoko ached to ask Kuu more questions, if only to find out if she could push him to say more, but she refrained. There was somebody else she wanted to hear the story from, first of all.

* * *

Kyoko went to bed in the small hours of the morning with so much to think about, it was a miracle that she slept at all. The makeup artist fussed over the circles under her eyes when she arrived on set, but it was worth the cleared head and resolved heart.

She approached Ren during the first of their coinciding breaks and cleared her throat. "If… if you want, it's okay to call me Kyoko-chan."

His expression was even more tentative than yesterday's. "Are you forgiving me?"

"I'm still not completely happy. But it's okay," Kyoko said. "It's all right, because I've secretly had something on you too, for a long time." That was one thing she had remembered during her sleepless hours.

"What do you mean?" His stare was so incredulous that Kyoko found herself a little annoyed. What, he didn't think she was capable of keeping secrets too?

"I'll tell you when we're alone."

After a short day at work, and after she promised Kuu that she would be home in time for dinner, and after Kuon promised he wouldn't make her be late, Kyoko agreed to get into Ren's rental. Yashiro-san, with a gleeful expression that made them both blush, assured them he could take care of himself until tomorrow and Ren shouldn't worry at all about getting back in time to drive him to the hotel.

They didn't talk in the car, though Kyoko caught Kuon's eyes straying from the road a few times when she was stealing glances of her own. But it was strange; the route he took was mostly familiar to Kyoko, veering off only near the end.

"I didn't think about the signs for it until today, but there was a beach like this so close to the Hizuri property all along! The wealthy sure are surrounded by beautiful things," Kyoko murmured as she stepped out into the sun, shielding her eyes to squint at the water. Kuon made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort, and she turned to frown at him out of habit. "Did you bring me here to play out another Guam-like story? Just to let you know, I don't intend to play at all today," she said firmly, though remembering that tropical paradise dreamscape threatened to throw her heart into turmoil all over again.

"That's not it." He had been strange around her all day–nervous, seeming younger and more insecure than suited her esteemed Tsuruga-san–but now he spoke with purpose. "I meant it when I said I was sorry, yesterday. I made a vow to keep this part of me a secret from everyone until I reach my goal, but keeping it from you wasn't worth it. I still can't tell the world who I am, but I don't want to hide anything from you anymore. I don't deserve to ask anything of you, but even so, will you keep my secret?"

Kyoko's heart was in her mouth, threatening to burst out and display everything, so she could only nod in response.

The beach wasn't crowded, but Kuon led her away from the few people anyway, to a rocky place where the cries of seagulls mingled with the far-off shouts of children playing. They sat there and, with the ocean wind in their hair and the sun on their faces, he told her a long story about a friend he had lost, and about everything he had given up to atone.

"I can't be forgiven in this life or the next," he finished, and smiled at her for the first time since yesterday. "But when I realized that even the worst things I've done played a part in leading me back to you, I felt that creating a 'Kuon' I can be proud of would be worthwhile."

"Then… you won't hold back from seeking happiness anymore, either?" The look he gave her, so innocently surprised, as if she had hit the nail on its head when she wasn't even supposed to know that particular nail existed, prompted Kyoko to go on. "I've thought you felt that way for a long time. Ever since–" She looked down into her lap at her clasped hands. Here it went. "Ever since you talked to Bo about that girl you love."

Kuon didn't say anything for a moment. And then he continued to not say anything for much longer than was comfortable. Kyoko began to get antsy. "I'm Bo," she added finally, wondering if she hadn't made that obvious enough. "Oh, but I'm not anymore, since I quit that job when I decided to work here for a while. But in the first episode, and then shortly after and up until just recently, I–"

There was a strangled noise from Kuon, and Kyoko finally looked up to see him doubled over. "You can laugh at that?! This is the secret I've had from you all this time, mind you! The one I was planning to tell you today!" His face was in his hands now, his shoulders shaking with mirth. "You're not mad? You're not worried at all?! Hey, all along, I've known lots of things I shouldn't, because of this! Like how you got fired! And–and about that girl! Be a little concerned!"

"But I…." Wiping at his eyes and gasping for breath, Kuon finally sat up and leaned back on his hands, a wide grin on his face. He really did look younger today–the thought once again popped into Kyoko's head, unbidden. Though really, he'd never been all that much older than she, had he? When all the grief, responsibilities, and prestige were stripped away, he was essentially her peer. "I really don't mind, if it's you. This is the best possible outcome, don't you think?"

"Wha–why would it be?"

"It's like I was telling you before. You were the first person I wanted to know the truth about all those things, right? Though it's embarrassing to think I confessed my feelings to you without knowing it."

The way he talked about confessing his feelings might have fooled another girl into thinking romantic thoughts, but not Kyoko, never. She had come ready for this, had prepared her heart as soon as she decided to reveal herself as Bo. "I never told anyone. And I won't tell after this, either, so you can be at ease. You'll definitely become successful here as Ren, and then you can become Kuon for the whole world. And that girl you–" She couldn't say the word. "That girl will definitely–"

A warm hand on her arm stole her resolve. "You keep saying 'that girl' in the third person, as if it weren't you." For the second time in as many days, the world stopped. "As if it could be anyone else. Even now, even knowing everything, you still–?"

Kuon ducked down and leaned over to look right at her face, and she couldn't hide. Nor could she miss the unbearable tenderness in his eyes.

"It's fine," he said softly, before she could find the words to explain the state of her heart. "I don't mind waiting for you to come around to the idea. But Kyoko-chan, my heart is already set on you, so until you say no, I mean to pursue you. Is that all right?" Kuon was smiling at her, eyes lit with something that reminded her of both the Emperor and the Fairy Prince at once. She couldn't look away.

For a long moment, Kyoko pursed her lips hard, fearing what might spill out of them if she didn't keep them sealed. But there was one thing she couldn't hold back.

"It's all right."


	4. Epilogue: How They Made It Official

Kyoko swallowed hard. "Y-Yashiro-san…." **  
**

Kuon cleared his throat and Kyoko looked over to catch him in a rare blush. "Yashiro-san… please."

They were seated stiffly upright at the table in Ren's hotel room, opposite his manager, preparing to face their fate. They knew what they had done.

There were just two pictures, badly lit, apparently snapped by a cellphone camera. A great many more pictures taken last night by the mystery photographer were floating around the internet, but only these two had caused an uproar among Japanese fans.

One of the snapshots could be mistaken for wholly innocent by anyone who didn't put stock in tabloid sensationalism: the Japanese celebrities known as Kyoko and Tsuruga Ren, understandably having grown friendlier after acting in the same movie for their international debut, together at yesterday's New Year's Eve party held for the cast and crew. True, they were sitting rather close in a relatively secluded corner, but it wasn't as if she was in his lap–it was probably just the easiest way to have a conversation in a noisy room. Sharp-eyed viewers might notice her hand on his arm, and how she was leaning in a bit closer than should have been necessary for mere talking, her face tilted up towards his. The especially perceptive might describe her smile as shy. But all those details could have been written off, if not for the other picture.

Not so much to say about that one, except that it appeared to capture a moment that came very soon after the one in the other picture. A kiss was just a kiss, to anybody who wasn't experiencing it. Although–

"Cupping Kyoko-chan's face was a good move, Ren." If there had been any doubt about whether Kuon was blushing before, there could be none now. For her part, Kyoko was sure her heart stuttered due to the amount of blood that sped to her face. Yashiro-san went on, cruelly blithe. "Thanks to that, there aren't nearly as many people accusing her of forcing it as I would have expected."

The strangest thing had to be that he was smiling. Could it be that he wasn't really angry? But he was going to have so much trouble to deal with, Kyoko fretted. And surely he had expected better from professionals.

Abruptly, she dropped into a low bow where she sat. "I'm sorry! It was my fault! Almost completely my fault!"

"Almost completely?"

"Ah–no–completely! Totally! I am to blame!"

"Kyoko, please–" Kuon tried to interject, but Yashiro-san was unstoppable.

"Kyoko-chan, those pictures are of two people. You can't claim all of the blame for yourself."

"But I definitely started it! Anyone who accuses me of shamelessly throwing myself at him will be completely correct, no matter what it looks like!" That wasn't a selfless lie to resolve Kuon of blame, either. Though nobody else could know the story behind the first picture, Kyoko had immediately recognized it as the moment in which she had asked Kuon for the first kiss between the two of them as just themselves. It had been a–no, she still couldn't call it a bad idea, at least not in the privacy of her own head. But she could certainly berate herself for not choosing a safer setting. It was just that it was so hard to arrange for time together outside work, to say nothing of alone time. On top of that, she'd been too shy for kisses on the few dates they'd managed to sneak, and soon they would be going back to Japan and _who knew_ what would happen then. Half the people at the party had kissed at the stroke of midnight a few minutes prior, and Kyoko had thought nobody was looking their way, and–well, it had been an impulse. "I started it, and that means it's my fault!"

"Has it occurred to you at all that Ren should have shown some restraint, himself?"

"It's occurred to me," Kuon offered. "And I wouldn't use the phrase 'shamelessly throwing herself' to describe what happened."

"There's no point in mincing words now," Kyoko said, but Yashiro-san cut through the gloom settling over her.

"Actually, there'll be plenty of point in mincing words in the next few months, I think. But anyway, this isn't insurmountable for either of you. You'll need to work harder to avoid cameras for a while, and you can expect the usual gossip and backlash that comes when a celebrity is no longer 'available', of course, but this isn't nearly a worst-case scenario. Neither of you has ever caused a real scandal, so there's no bad material for the gossip columnists to bring up again now. Besides, there are already factions of supporters among your fans."

"We have–no, _he_ has fans who support us?"

Yashiro-san broke out into a knowing grin. "It's true. There have even been comments like 'They're kinda cute!' and 'Didn't they look good together in that interview from the Dark Moon wrap party, too?' Not all of this guy's fans are actually after him, I assure you."

"As expected, you've already checked all the message boards, huh?" Kuon's praise had a weary edge to it.

"More or less," was the brisk answer, before he continued seriously. "For now, I think the two of you should just admit that you're a couple," he paused, shooting them an expectant look, before finishing, "to the public. Don't let your fans argue about what the truth might be for too long. Since this morning, there's already word from seven different talk shows wanting both of you on as soon as you're back in Tokyo, so all we have to do is pick one and plan your statements. You'll do it, right? Because there's no misunderstanding this time, right? It's true that you're finally together, _right_?"

It took a full half-hour to finish apologizing to Yashiro-san for leaving him out of the loop, but afterwards he was thrilled to offer them a little time alone. "You know, to talk things over," he said, though his schoolgirl smile implied that he wasn't picturing conversations. "I'll even make sure it's safe for Kyoko-chan to leave the room before I come back, so don't worry about anything!"

Yashiro-san closed the door behind him, and Kyoko slumped in her chair while Kuon slouched over the table, holding his head.

"Four months. We lasted about four months without anyone finding out about us."

Kyoko stared dully at the ceiling. "Your mother already knew." Kuon sat bolt upright before Kyoko added, "Probably. Actually, I think she's been assuming lots of things all this time. And I didn't realize it until a little while ago, but sensei's been making sneaky remarks about about us almost since I first met him."

"Sorry about them…."

She sat up. "You should be! _I_ was the one who had to sit through breakfast with _your_ parents after they heard about it this morning! Aaah, why does sensei have to diligently keep up with Japanese entertainment news even when he's in America? He saw the pictures before I did!"

"They didn't give you trouble, did they?"

"I wasn't scolded or anything, but… I'm telling you, it was embarrassing! Even more so because they were trying to pretend the whole time that they didn't know you."

Kuon rubbed his palm over his face. "I should thank them for being so thorough."

Twin sighs, and then silence for a few moments before Kyoko broke it. "I wouldn't mind if it was just them knowing, and Yashiro-san, and Moko-san, and–no, I'll mind the president knowing, no matter what."

Kuon gave a dry laugh. "I haven't heard from him yet, except that he wants to see us both the night we're back in town."

Oh no. "Could he be throwing a party?" Dread oozed from Kyoko's pores, but Kuon turned a teasing smile on her.

"For your graduation from the Love Me Section, maybe?" Personally, Kyoko doubted President Takarada would ever free her, and she glared at the suggestion. Her reaction made Kuon laugh, but he sobered quickly. "But really… are you all right with this? It's too late to take it back or keep the world from seeing those pictures, but if you don't want to follow Yashiro-san's plan…." He reached over to brush his fingers through her bangs as she looked at him wonderingly. "I'll back you up, you know. We'll figure something out."

Just like that, the panic that had hummed under Kyoko's skin all day went quiet. "No." She smiled for the first time since before breakfast. "I… can't say I like having everyone in Japan know, and I don't like how they found out." Or the fact that such a precious memory, which should have been just for the two of them, was going to be on public display probably forever. "But I think Yashiro-san has the right idea. And, even more than that, I don't want to lie about us. If someone asks what there is between you and me, I don't ever want to say 'nothing' again."


End file.
